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Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Round-Up

I know I said I was done with this blog, but I had a few requests to continue recommending books. I don’t have time to
write every day because I’ve got a new blog for 2013 (Chapter Book Explorer).
However, I thought it would be fun to post at the end of each month with a
round-up some of my favorite picture books (no repeats from last year!). I’m
going to try to make the round-ups a mixture of classics, older gems, and newly
published books. I think this will also be a great way for me to continue
expanding my mental catalog of picture books.

Holly Evans, 3rd grader and budding scientist,
decides to launch vegetable seedlings into the sky for her school science
project. A few weeks later, on June 29, 1999 to be exact, Holly is thrilled to
learn that giant turnips have floated down in Billings, Montana and enormous
cucumbers are circling Kalamazoo, Michigan! But Holly gets suspicious
when she hears about arugula in Ashtabula and avocados in Vermont; She didn’t
send out those vegetables! So where did all these vegetables come from? Pair
this fantastical book with the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for a storytime
about vegetables for preschoolers or elementary aged kids. Wiesner’s
illustrations are lush and detailed. Check out his other books, including my
favorites: Sector 7 and Flotsam.

Cousin Clara's cottage is consumed by
crocodiles, so she come to live with Lester’s family. At first everything is fine,
but then Cousin Clara begins knitting dreadful sweaters for Lester and he is
forced to wear to school. As soon as Lester manages to rid himself of one
sweater, another appears! What’s a boy to do? Great for a preschool audience,
try pairing it with Extra Yarn (which was just named a Caldecott Honor Book!) or Woolbur for a yarntastic storytime.

Just named the 2013 winner of the Caldecott Award, this book
is the drily humorous tale of a fish who has stolen a hat from another fish. The fishy thief is on the lam, but don’t worry, he has a plan! Pair it with Klassen’s earlier book, I Want My Hat Back. Check out the book trailer for a peek at the illustrations and tone of
the book.

This version of the classic three pigs story is
derailed when the illustrator spills his juice on the house of straw, stops the
wolf from huffing and puffing to redraw his nose, and then runs out of red
paint. Use this book with preschools and elementary school kids for a hilarious
addition to a fractured fairy tale, pigs, or color storytime. It’s also a fun
way to segue into a conversation about illustrators and authors.

This guessing game book encourages readers to think outside
the box as they imagine what might be going on in each building in Grahnville,
USA. For instance, based on the silhouettes seen through the window of Dino’s
Pizza you might think Dino and his brothers are making pizza. But when you turn
the page, you’ll realize the men aren’t making pizza, they’re building a
dinosaur! The text is full of wordplay (Dino’s brothers are Bronto, Stego, and
Pterry) and humorous twists that will have readers giggling. Use this for a “guess
what?” storytime, try pairing it with books like Guess What! and Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog.

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About Me

I am a children's librarian at the Denver Public Library. I graduated with a Masters of Library Science from Texas Woman's University. I feel lucky to have a career that allows me to combine my theatre experience and my love for children’s lit and programming. I'm always on the look out for creative ways to incorporate the arts (music, drama, dance, visual arts) to extend books beyond the page.